


Two steps forward, one step back

by zuzuzuuu



Series: Three's a crowd, but I like it lively [1]
Category: UNINE (Band)
Genre: I have feelings and none of them made it in here, M/M, Multi, OT3, Why do I bother, canonverse, there are 84 combinations of ot3 in unine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 14:24:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19086868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zuzuzuuu/pseuds/zuzuzuuu
Summary: Wenhan, Jia Yi, Hanyu, anda lot ofa little bit of unspoken pining. Every angle in an equilateral triangle thinks it's the odd one out.





	Two steps forward, one step back

_They're doing it again,_ Hanyu thinks absentmindedly, picking at the skin on his bottom lip. He scrolls through his friends feed with his other hand, gaze half-lidded, watching through the corner of his eye as Jia Yi lets out a huge laugh, leaning his full weight on Wenhan.

“Nice nice nice,” Wenhan says, not losing any of his concentration on the game, even when Jia Yi shifts his head resting on Wenhan's shoulder, soft fringe brushing the cheekbones of Wenhan's face. “That tickles.”

“Sorry,” Jia Yi says, and does it again three more times. Wenhan only huffs and lowers his shoulder so that Jia Yi can rest his head at a better angle.

The two of them go back to the game without having to say a word. Jia Yi holds his phone out, lazily squinting at it from a distance, while Wenhan stares so intensely at it from close-up that his eyes go a little crossed. Hanyu will deny to the death that he finds this strangely adorable. “This” meaning - Jia Yi’s pliable, bright grin at Wenhan when he scores an important victory, who softens and smiles fondly in return. Their ability to be so in sync that they don’t even need to discuss anything beyond sharing that smile. Adorable, but also somehow spreading an uncomfortable sourness in his lungs that Hanyu swallows down.

“Watchu doin’?” Chen Youwei’s voice says, hand waving in between Hanyu’s eyes and his phone, and then the rest of his roommate appears, seating himself comfortably on the edge of the sofa that Hanyu has made his temporary nest.

“Nothing,” Hanyu says. “Seeing what everyone’s up to.” The sound of their conversation must have disturbed the other two somehow, because Jia Yi glances up, feet kicking Wenhan’s.

“Really? Could have sworn you were just zoning out.” Youwei dodges Hanyu’s lazy slap. “Staring at people isn’t nice,” he whispers, hand covering his mouth at an angle that makes sure neither Jia Yi nor Wenhan can see.

Hanyu can feel a damned blush threatening to crawl up his face. “Shut up,” he growls, casting a quick look at the inseparable duo. Jia Yi has his nose buried in the mobile game again, fingers furiously tapping, Wenhan giving instructions at light speed while his toes poke Jia Yi in the calf. Hanyu breathes a sigh of relief. Then goes back to glaring at Youwei.

“Your phone screen is blank,” Youwei points out.

“Ugh,” Hanyu says, and reluctantly gets up from his cosy spot to ferment somewhere else, where he can steal looks at the golden combo without nosy people judging him for it.

 

-

 

 _They’re doing it again,_ Jia Yi thinks, a little bit jealous. Just a little bit. It’s just that Xia Hanyu is always so obediently adoring around Wenhan, in a way that’s subtly different from the way he treats the rest of them. Even when Wenhan, on his part, is teasing him or prodding him or pushing Hanyu forward, toward becoming better, toward being part of the group and not a bystander on the sidelines.

In his daze, he doesn’t notice where he’s going until Guan Yue points him to the other car. “They're over that side,” he says through the face mask, and Jia Yi nods and heads off.

“Lao Xia,” Jia Yi greets, upbeat despite his inner thoughts. Hanyu doesn't look up, but he shifts to make space and pats the seat beside him in greeting.

“Xia Hanyu,” Wenhan says. His pronunciation is clear when he wants it to be. But when it comes to Hanyu’s name, he’s always blending the words together till they become one mouthful of sweet mess, like cotton candy melting in one bite.

“What,” Hanyu says threateningly, but he looks up from his phone, corners of his mouth diligently in place.

“Smile,” Wenhan says, putting his own phone down and pushing up his own cheeks with two fingers. _So cute,_ Jia Yi thinks, forgetting to bother to pretend like he’s not eavesdropping on this conversation. Wenhan’s styling today makes him look young and fresh, a breath of mint.

“What?” Hanyu says, head tilted slightly in confusion. _So Cute_ , Jia Yi cries inside, but on the surface he simply raises his phone a little higher and takes a secret photo of the two.

“The fans said you should stop covering your mouth, they want to see your face.” Wenhan finally gives in to his impulses, reaching over. Hanyu shifts away warily - Jia Yi suddenly remembers the time Wenhan styled Hanyu's hair, like a five-year-old playing dress-up, unaware of the strength of his pull. But also Hanyu’s only half-hearted protests, shoulders shaking with laughter as he sat meekly in the chair.

“...Come here,” Wenhan glares.

Hanyu bites down on his grin and leans in obediently. There's that look on his face again, the undercurrent of pleased mischief in his eyes.

“Like this,” Wenhan says, fingers gently pushing. “Think… Think of something that makes you happy. Or someone, I don't know.”

Jia Yi watches the way Hanyu drinks in Wenhan's unintentional pout, eyes darkly intense, and ends up catching Hanyu's glance toward him straight-on. _Whoops._ Caught red-handed. Hanyu frowns.

“Hey,” Wenhan says. “Why’d you stop? You were doing so well before! Right, Jiaxin?”

“Yeah,” Jia Yi nods vigorously. “Very sweet. Like a gummy!”

Hanyu wiggles out of Wenhan's loose grasp, head turned. He doesn't see Wenhan's crestfallen expression - though Jia Yi does, fully, in that quick second before Wenhan returns to his exasperated one.

“I’m always sweet,” Hanyu mumbles, tugging his cap down. The slow smile spreading back across Wenhan’s face makes Jia Yi’s heart clench.

 

-

 

 _There they go again_ , Wenhan thinks, chewing on his mouthful of dinner as he watches Hanyu look for Jia Yi. He waves Guan Yue away when he reminds him again about putting dishes in the sink, and pushes the food to the sides of his cheeks. Maybe he should make sure Chen Youwei isn't around, or they'll end up in another fight about which of them looks more like a squirrel.

“Jia Yi,” Hanyu says. He fiddles with the ends of his sleeves, tugging at the hole meant for his thumbs, as if his fingers have to be doing something all the time.

“Lao Xia!” Jia Yi brightens. “I was looking for you. One -”

“ - Round?” Hanyu says, then grins.

Jia Yi laughs. “What, are we finishing each other's sentences now?”

“I wouldn't dare, Strongest Support,” Hanyu says, but he sits down next to him, smile twitching.

They huddle together, heads bent low, the light from the mobile screen faintly highlighting Hanyu's long lashes as they meet their defined lower counterparts in steady blinks. And highlighting the way Jia Yi looks at Hanyu, curiously fascinated.

“Is there any watermelon left?” Hanyu asks, licking his lips. Wenhan follows the dart of his tongue with his eyes.

“I ate the last slice,” Jia Yi says. This is definitely a lie, because Wenhan just saw him open the fridge not five minutes before, pause at the watermelon, and take a bottle of water out instead.

True to expectations, Hanyu’s nose wrinkles in disappointment. “What… I was saving it! Jia Yi!”

“Woah, so fierce,” Jia Yi says, leaning out of the way of Hanyu’s pokes. “Throwing a tantrum isn’t cute! Ah! Save me! I’m being kicked by a horse!”

Hanyu laughs a little at the last sentence, but then frowns. “I’m not a horse,” he says. It sounds almost petulant, such a vast difference from his usual simple or monotonous answers to Wenhan’s teasing. _I’m jealous,_ he realizes. _Of Jia Yi?_

 _Or of Hanyu?_ Wenhan curls up in his seat, quietly watching as Jia Yi immediately drops his hands from his face. “Guoguo,” he says, nudging him with his knee. It’s Jia Yi’s classic big-smile face, winningly trying to melt the hearts of anyone within view. “Han guo. Ge. Han-ge.”

“That’s Wenhan,” Hanyu deadpans, but he accepts the peace offering for what it is, smile small but sincere.

 

-

 

“This is torture,” Guan Yue says.

“I tried,” Chen Youwei shrugs, and takes another bite of the supper that Guan Yue has whipped up for their super-secret, late-night gossip slash complaints slash my-teammates-are-infatuated-with-each-other-but-are-too-dumb-to-see-it support group.

Guan Yue crosses his arms and thinks hard. “We need more help. Yangyang - hey, Youwei, you better clean that up later!”

Chen Youwei only nods in agreement, wiping his hands primly with a sheet of tissue. “Yangyang can communicate with all of them - good idea.”

“All of who?” Wenhan says, startling Youwei into dropping his spoon onto the table he just cleaned. “Getting ideas about my firstborn son?”

“Leader mine,” Youwei starts. _I’m practically his adopted father_ is what he doesn’t continue with. “When did you take a class in stealth?” It distracts Wenhan away from his question, or certainly enough not to protest when Youwei leads him back out into the living room, throwing a secret OK sign behind his back.

Guan Yue sighs resignedly and starts the washing up.


End file.
